This invention relates to knitting machines.
In modern knitting machines, cam-support carriages are equipped with knitting cams able to occupy two positions, one being an active position and the other an inactive position. In certain known knitting machines, as described in Swiss Patent No. 539 157, the programme for actuating the cams of the carriage to move the carriage from one end of the needle row to the other is recorded in a first memory and in another memory, separate from the first, there is recorded the programme for movements in the opposite direction. The information memorized is transmitted to the cams of the carriage by means of a reading device and a mechanical control device. The transmission is effected by sliding rods integral with the carriage and cooperating with stops. If the stops are stationary, at the ends of the machine, the carriage must move from one end of the machine to the other, even if only part of the width of the machine is used for knitting, and this constitutes a loss of time. In order to prevent this, the stops must be capable of being moved along the needle rows but this requires a relatively heavy and complicated mechanism.
It has been proposed to replace this mechanical control by electro-magnets mounted on the cam-support carriage. However, the latter must be relatively heavy and powerful, which makes the carriage considerably heavier and thus makes its movement difficult.
In order to obviate this drawback, it has been proposed in German Patent Application No. 1 435 161 to combine a mechanical control comprising a lever with an electro-magnetic control, this combination makes it possible to use retaining electro-magnets of low power.